


Ordinary treasures

by fromthedeskoftheraven



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Battle of Five Armies Fix-It, F/M, Fluff, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:16:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5992869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromthedeskoftheraven/pseuds/fromthedeskoftheraven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chapter 14 of the Mapmaker Series. A human woman joins the company of Thorin Oakenshield on the quest to Erebor as a mapmaker and finds a lifelong love.</p>
<p>A flashback to the quest and revelations about a special gift from Ori.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ordinary treasures

You were rummaging in a chest for your winter gloves when your fingers brushed against it, the coarse fleeciness out of place among all the fine, new clothes you now possessed. Its texture was familiar, but long forgotten, and your face lit up with a look of fond remembrance as you drew out the length of soft, knitted material. You rubbed it gently on your cheek and smiled. It was definitely worse for wear, but the very scent of the leaves, earth, night air, and campfire smoke seemed to linger in its fibers.

You crouched by the riverbank, washing out one of the cooking pots in the bracingly cold water. Night was falling, and you were eager to finish your work and return to camp to find a seat close to the fire. Suddenly, you were interrupted by a timid voice. “Excuse me, miss.” You turned to greet the gentlest of the dwarves with a friendly smile. 

“Hello, Ori.” 

“Do you need any help?” 

“Oh, no, thank you,” you answered cheerfully, drying the pot quickly with a clean rag and rubbing your hands together to warm them. “I’ve just finished.” 

“Oh. Well…” Ori nodded shyly, hesitating for a moment before holding something out to you. “This is for you, miss. It will help keep you a little warmer on these chilly nights…I hope you like it.” 

You took the soft object he offered you, unfolding it to find that it was a thick, knitted scarf. In the fading light, you could just see that it was made of a beautiful purplish-blue yarn, and you looked back at him with a mixture of gratitude and amazement. “Ori, this is one of the nicest gifts I’ve ever had. You made this? For me?” 

“Well, yes,” he answered. 

You smiled and clasped his arm. “Thank you.” Happily, you wrapped the scarf around your neck, tucking its long ends into your coat. “Oh, it’s wonderful. Thank you so much!” 

Ori just smiled, fidgeting with the buttons on his coat. “It’s nothing, really, it’s just…I hope you like it,” he repeated.

Knocking on the door, you were lucky enough to find Dori and Ori both at home in the chambers the brothers shared. Dori had been delighted to find you on their doorstep, and in no time at all had installed you in the most comfortable chair with a cup of hot tea in your hand and a plate of biscuits within reach. You chatted for a while about the work they had settled into in Erebor – Dori supervising in the forges and Ori acting as the council’s scribe – and listened to what bits of gossip they knew. Then, setting down your cup, you turned to Ori. “You’ll never believe what I found. Look.” Picking up the scarf from where you’d laid it beside you on the chair, you handed it to him with a smile. 

He examined it as Dori exclaimed, “bless me! Is that the scarf you made?” 

“So it is,” Ori replied, turning it over. 

“I thought it had been lost, but I found it at the bottom of a chest this morning,” you explained, “and it made me want to come and thank you all over again. That was a comfort on many a cold night in camp.” Ori smiled, and Dori chuckled wryly, remembering well the hardships of your journey. “And it’s even my favorite color,” you added, smiling warmly at Ori. 

“Oh yes,” he replied. “Thorin said it should definitely be blue.” 

You frowned, confused. “Thorin?” 

Ori nodded, handing the scarf back to you. “When he asked me to make it for you, he said it should be blue, because it was the color you liked best.”

“What’s your favorite pudding?” 

“Blackberry pie. Yours?” 

“Seed cake. Favorite song?” 

You shook your head, refusing to answer. “Too many to choose from.” 

“Mmm,” Kili nodded in agreement. The two of you sat with your backs against a log near the fire, relaxing after a long day’s march and a hot meal. Fili was sprawled on the grass next to you, blowing smoke rings from his pipe. Bofur leaned on a nearby tree trunk, whittling a stick with a pocketknife, and Thorin sat brooding on the opposite side of the fire, occasionally exchanging a quiet word with Dwalin, who was sharpening his axe blades. “All right, an easy one,” Kili continued. “What’s your favorite color?” 

You smiled. “Blue.” 

“Boring,“ he teased. 

“It’s not boring!” you laughed, swatting him playfully. “It’s the color of water and wildflowers and the sky…look right here, this is the best blue of all, when the sun’s gone down but it’s not dark yet, and the sky is almost purple, but not quite.”

You were dumbfounded. “Thorin asked you to make me a scarf?” 

“Oh yes,” Dori put in, “I remember Ori telling me, it was quite a surprise to both of us. You still didn’t know?” 

“No,” you shook your head, mystified. “But…why? And why keep it a secret?” 

“Well, he’d noticed you looking cold, and he said he didn’t want you getting sick or falling behind as the weather turned,” Ori recalled. Then he frowned. “I don’t know why he didn’t want you to know it was his idea…” He paused, remembering. “He just said it wouldn’t do for you to think he was paying overmuch attention to you.” 

“Of course, knowing what we know now,” Dori added with a wink, his voice sinking to a conspiratorial whisper, “I’d guess he was probably a little shy.”

The morning after Ori had given you the scarf, you gathered up your things to move on from the campsite. You had just wound your scarf snugly around your neck when you looked up to see Thorin only a short distance away. He was readying his own possessions for the day’s travels, but his eyes were on you, and he didn’t look so forbidding as usual. You ventured a small smile at him, and were gratified to see him return it, slightly inclining his head. There was something about the sight of him smiling that warmed your heart, and your own smile broadened as you slung your pack over your shoulders, shrugging to adjust to the load. 

“Are you comfortable?” Thorin asked quietly, and you nodded. 

“Yes…thank you.” With a last glance at him, you turned to join the rest of the company.

“All that time, it was him,” you mused. 

“Honestly, miss, I didn’t feel quite right, you being so grateful and kind to me,” Ori admitted. 

“Well, you did make it, after all, and it is beautiful…you must take some of the credit,” you encouraged him. 

He smiled at this, but began to look a bit worried. “I hope I’ve done right to tell you,” he fretted. “I did promise Thorin.” 

“Oh, yes, Ori,” you laid a comforting hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. You’ve done right to tell me.” You ran your fingers lovingly over the scarf, thinking of this quest that had changed everything for you, and above all of Thorin, always listening, caring, watching over you, even when you didn’t know it. You smiled. “I shall treasure it all the more.”


End file.
